As a debate over AI safety rages on, stakeholders, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, have called for stricter regulations related to the development of advanced models. But many in China, much like US President Donald Trump, don’t buy it.
Calls have been growing for the US and China to work together on AI safety. While US President Donald Trump has termed the fears surrounding artificial intelligence as overblown, Chinese media reports have termed the warnings as a “fear marketing” ploy by American firms to maintain their lead, The New York Times reported.
For many in China, the warnings feel unfathomable, considering the hold of the ruling Communist Party over technology.
The authorities have policed potentially destabilising technologies, such as the internet. During the pandemic, the government in Beijing highlighted its ability to contain major crises by putting entire cities under lockdown and tracking millions of residents.
For China, AI is similar to any other technology that can be harnessed for the good of the country with careful planning. In case of any rogue AI, the response could be simple – pull the plug on the technology, impose an internet blackout, and take custody of the people responsible for the incident.
Even so, some have warned about the dangers of AI.
AI Concerns Still Present In China
The release of Mythos, Anthropic’s powerful frontier AI model, has been met with concern in Beijing. Officials have issued new guidelines and warnings concerning rogue AI agents and drafted a cybercrime law that would require companies to monitor and prevent their models from being used to create malicious code for potential cyberattacks.
An update of China’s “A.I. Safety Governance Framework” was released earlier this month. It echoed some of Silicon Valley’s fears about self-improving AI systems.
China has some of the world’s strictest regulations on AI. Artificial intelligence models must be registered and approved by authorities before release.
However, there is no legal requirement to test for risks such as an AI model being used to make chemical or biological weapons.
Chinese AI labs are not as transparent about their safety measures compared to their US counterparts. According to Concordia, a Beijing-based AI safety consultancy, only five of China’s 10 leading AI firms reported the results of safety evaluations between June 2025 and May 2026.
Last week, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US, the White House said that the nations would establish a “bilateral communication channel” for AI incidents, as per Al Jazeera.
But between Trump’s focus on AI and China’s reluctance to trust warnings of American companies, there seems to be little incentive for the countries to cooperate on the matter.
